Other content tagged: skin-to-skin
The power of developmental care – exploring the mechanisms to shorten Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) hospitalisation
Developmental care is an approach to improve the care of infants hospitalised in a NICU. It includes measures to adapt the NICU environment to be more patient-friendly, foster parental involvement in care, increase oral immune therapy and exclusive breastfeeding. A new study conducted in 14 hospitals in China and including more than 1,300 low birth weight infants highlights the promising outcomes of developmental care. Most significantly, the length of hospitalisation was markedly shorter…
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Exploring the most important elements to improve family-integrated care – A parent’s perspective
Family-integrated care (FICare) has the potential to significantly improve the health of both newborn and parents. This is especially vital when the infant is admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and is thus often separated from their parents. A parent survey conducted in the Netherlands now provides insight into how parents experienced their integration in care. The study shows that most parents are involved to a certain extend. However, they highlight…
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13th International Conference on Kangaroo Mother Care in Madrid
From 21 to 24 November 2022, experts from all over the world came together to exchange knowledge regarding the latest Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) practices. EFCNI was honoured to attend the conference on-site and was thrilled to meet old friends and new ones and to work together with the KMC community towards the best possible care for preterm born babies and their families. It was a pleasure to attend the 13th International Conference on Kangaroo Mother Care from 21 to…
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Increasing Early Skin-to-Skin in Extremely Low Birthweight Infants
Although the benefits of skin-to-skin care (SSC) for preterm and low birthweight infants are known to the neonatal community, some health centres still struggle with implementation. To increase SSC within the first 72 hours of life among extremely low birthweight (ELBW) infants, a multidimensional approach was chosen at a Level IV university-based regional intensive care nursery (ICN). SSC has many benefits for mothers and infants, especially those born preterm. Previous studies showed that in…
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Global analysis of neonatal care during the COVID-19 pandemic – a healthcare providers’ perspective
With COVID-19 disrupting neonatal health systems globally, a group of experts undertook a thematic analysis of healthcare providers’ experiences using a disseminated online survey. Results show high levels of stress on healthcare providers, disruption of newborn care practices, and lack of guidelines regarding preterm newborns and babies with low birthweight (LBW) during the pandemic. There is an urgent need to protect life-saving interventions. The implementation of the Every Newborn Action Plan in 2014 by…
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Skin-to-skin contact between fathers and newborns improves their physiological parameters and wakefulness.
The common practice of separating infants from their parents after a caesarean section was put into question after a study showed that the skin-to-skin contact between the fathers and the newborn infants had significant advantages in achieving their stable physiological parameters and wakefulness. Motivated by the known benefits of an early mother-infant skin-to-skin contact, a randomised controlled study was conducted to determine if this could also be the case with fathers. The goal was…
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Preterm care during COVID-19 and the survival benefit of kangaroo mother care
Given the disruption of neonatal health services through the COVID-19 pandemic, a two-scenarios-analysis was conducted to weigh the risk of not implementing kangaroo mother care (KMC) among neonates with neonatal deaths from COVID-19. The undeniable survival benefit of KMC far outweighs the small risk of death due to the virus and encourage its practice. There are conflicting global guidelines on mother-newborn care during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly regarding kangaroo mother care…
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